Advocacy

Domestic Violence Support Services works on policy changes to shore up loopholes, and to provide programs that will alter the current cycle of repeat offenders, victims, and survivors.

Current policies do not consider coercive control to be a crime. However, coercive control plays an important part of domestic abuse, as perpetrators use many of the methods on the Wheel of Power and Control to traumatize their partner and/or parents and/or children. While elder abuse and child abuse laws (crimes against vulnerable persons) exist, many victims of domestic violence are the intimate partners, who are not considered to be vulnerable persons. This is why it is important to add crimes of coercive control into the statutes.

In addition to adding statutes on coercive control, it is necessary to add policies and processes for working with victims, perpetrators, and families and friends of victims and perpetrators who provide support to victims and perpetratorsthrough self-awareness training programs domestic violence training programs and mediation.

Finally, it is important to maintain the integrity of the Court process and David incorrect testimony by interviewing victims separately from the accused perpetrators, and stopping the currently legal practice of alleged perpetrators interviewing and/or cross-examining victims. It is important for the accused to be able to defend themselves by asking questions to determine the character and validity of the crimes they are accused of; however, in instances of actual abuse, the victim is re-traumatized, and will rescind previous claims that were made while the victim was in a safe space. The fear of returning to an angry partner, while away from the protection of law enforcement agencies is great. This is why it is important to have separation, intervention, and mediation between the parties.